Saturday, January 26, 2019

In the series of posts on 99 attributes of Allah, our last post was on the Attribute Al Khaliq (The Creator). In fact in the Holy Qur'an, three attributes of the Allah come together in the 24th verse of 59th Surah of the Holy Quran "Surah Al Hashr":

هُوَ اللَّهُ الْخَالِقُ الْبَارِئُ الْمُصَوِّرُ

These three attributes, Al Khaliq, Al Bāri' (The Inventor) and al Musawwir (The Fashioner) are synonymous to one an other. Allah the Almighty has created the universe from nothing, thus He is rightly attributed Himself as the sole Khaliq, the Creator of the universe. However, the two other attributes of Al Bāri' (The Inventor) and Al Musawwir (The Fashioner) augment the qualities of Al Khaliq.We have already deliberated in detail about the attribute Al Khaliq in our earlier post. So in this post we will dwell on the latter two attributes of Al Bari and Al Musawwir.Al Bāri' ( البارِئُ ) - The Inventor / The Originator:In Arabic, the word Bari has many different meanings. Allah has bara'a, created or initiated the creation without a model; bariyyah means those whom He has created. Another meaning is curing or healing. A wise saying state that one who is cured should express gratitude to the One Who cured him. Al-Baari’ is also the One Who made man from al-baraa, i.e., clay.In fact Allah has created everything (Al Khaliq), but He gave each a form which was unique and distinctive, that is the attribute Al Bāri'. If we look around each creation is different from each other. Even the most identical twins are not the same genetically or biologically. Imagine the living beings, man, animals, fish, fish, flowers and all other living organism, a large number of which exist or existed, but none is exactly alike.

We humans alone are entirely different from each other - even no two humans have the same finger prose, which otherwise look so similar to naked eye. Our bone structure is unique that bears the weight of mass over it. Ever cared to compare the bone structure of different animals and humans - how diverse these are and how articulately these have been joined together?

This vast deviations could only be ensured by Allah Almighty, who is Al Khaliq and Al Bāri' too.

Allâh, it is He Who has made for you the earth as a dwelling place and the sky as a canopy, and has given you shape and made your shapes good (looking) and has provided you with good things. That is Allâh, your Lord, so Blessed is Allâh, the Lord of the ‘Alamîn (mankind, jinn and all that exists). [Holy Qur'an, Surah Al Ghafir 40:64]

Needless to say that it is He who has made everything that is in perfect harmony and proportion, without blemish or fault. Bāri' denotes the way the One works with substances, often creating from existing matter, making and evolving that which is free and clear of any other thing, free and clear of imperfections. Beside physical appearances, beauty and grandeur, Allah has given man and all other creations with special aptitudes, faculties and capacities.The human animal and plant anatomy is something that best of the scientists and doctors have yet to understand it and create something similar to it. We may make robots that can assist us in assembling cars or even assisting us in our daily housed chores, these can never be a true replica of man. Even if we make something closer to it, could we ever be able to give it a mind just like us?

Al Musawwir ( المُصَوِّر ) - The FashionerEvery creation has a shape, drawn very deliberately and critically. Al Musawwir is thus the one who has given everything a special form and a special manner whereby it is distinguished. Our faces, hands, toes and every part of our body has be designed in such an artistic completeness that no being other than Allah, the Al Musawwir, has the ability to do so. The brush strokes of the Nature are unique and awesome, leave us spellbound when we look at beautifully shaped meadows, vast stretches of lush green lands, the mountains with each peak designed entirely from the other. The colours and hues are unimaginably diverse and different. In fact no human or computer can bring out so many colour combinations that exist in the Nature. The Fashioner or the Shaper has given each creation with a unique beauty different from the other.

If one has a flare for underwater photography, one would be amazed to find the fish, each different from the other in colour and shape. The coral reefs under the seas are another creations, shaped and coloured so magnificently that even the best of the painters find them unable even to imitate or copy.

Look at the animals: the lions, the leopards, cheetah, the gazelles, the impalas, the giraffe, the elephants, rhinos, horses and lot others. How beautifully these have been shaped with entirely different attributes. One can go on and on explaining these three attributes Al Khaliq, Al Bāri' (The Inventor) and al Musawwir (The Fashioner), but the explanations and details are never ending. Rather sometimes, some attributes are unexplainable. Then why do not we acknowledge Allah as the sole Creator of the universe, and why do we still include others to be His equal or even partner. May Allah grant us the wisdom to bow in front of Him as much as we can to thank Him for everything that He created fro us. Sowhen talking of the Creation and the Creator, al-Khaaliq is a general word, al-Baari’ is more specific and al-Musawwir is even more specific.Please watch the video below and listen to an enlightening commentary on the meaning of these three attributes of Allah:

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